Learned Some Programming! 06/05/2014

by Joe

Hoo, this one took a while to get to! Thank you for your patience, everyone :D

Some interesting news! Due to circumstances out of my control, I now have more freedom over my time and I want to devote more of that time to The Pocalypse. I want to get the comic back to a once-a-week schedule. Of course, words don’t mean anything – I have to back them up with scenes :D

That being said, if I could get the comic back to a once-a-week schedule, would all you amazing supporters and fans out there consider being The Pocalypse patrons on Patreon (http://www.patreon.com)? If you’ve never heard of Patreon, it’s basically a subscription service that lets you set a monthly amount (as little as a dollar) that you’re willing to give to a site/service. It’s absolutely not necessary as The Pocalypse will always stay free for everyone but it comes with perks, such as being able to view a scene a day earlier. I’m not gonna set up a Patreon yet as I want to focus on actually making scenes and seeing if I can pull of a once-a-week schedule. I also want to hear what you all think :D

Now about the blog title! I took some time to teach myself JavaScript and I created something simple! It’s called The Monolith and you can play it here: http://monolith.greenpixel.ca :D If you like games like Cookie Clicker and The Pocalypse’s art, you’ll like this!

I learned a lot from making it and I can take what I learned and make something The Pocalypse-related :D

And the cliffhanger!!! Great scene as always, and glad to hear you are getting some free time! I’m excited to see where this goes.

Brenkieon June 5, 2014 at 11:06 pm

Glad to see that you’re planning on bringing The Pocalypse back to a weekly schedule, though I hope that the “circumstances out of your control” is nothing bad. Golly, I think I say such things way too much when you make ambiguous statements.

As to the patron system you’re considering implementing, I have some severely mixed feelings about this. I’ve often considered donating money to you to help free up some of your time so that you could work more on The Pocalypse (and the games), but the perks… I don’t know. The idea that someone can pay to see the scene a day before me strikes me as wrong. I just don’t feel like that’s very fair to the viewers who have sat around loyally waiting and watching, and even forming a small bit of community here.

@ BloodWolf7 – Heh heh, no it’s nothing bad! Some people may view it as “bad” but I see it as an awesome blessing in disguise :D As for patrons getting to see a scene earlier, you make a good point! I learned about Patreon through the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal webcomic and one of their perks is just that – seeing a comic a day early. Other comics on the Patreon site do the same but I do understand that it is unfair to you long-time, loyal readers that can’t subscribe. I’ll have to really think about it when I do start a Patreon campaign :D What kind of perks would you like to see?

I’d hate to be a nitpick, but the sprite and the vector of Terry does not match in the beginning of the scene (I am not done with the scene just yet, I am just now seeing it). I am just going to assume it is going to be good scene like always. Just a heads-up.

I nearly pooped myself when the sound came on,i had volume up full blast!

WM28UKon June 6, 2014 at 9:43 am

I’m honestly having a bit of trouble thinking on what could be fair for people, yet still a boon. Perhaps, when there are voting periods, the patrons get an extra vote? On certain things, such as naming characters and the like, I could certainly see it not being a big deal. Another could be a downloadable version of the scenes for the duration of the month.

Those are just a couple off the top of the head ideas. Voting has some definite downsides. You’d either have to work the comic to guarantee a vote every month, or put up a disclaimer so that people know they only get an extra vote IF there is a vote, which seems a bit cruddy. If the vote is something important (for example whether a character lives or dies) then I could see some ruffled feathers, but I don’t think you’d do something like that.

Nice as always, good to see the comic back :)
A minor note: The Patreon link goes to the Patreon main site and not on your personal support page.

Otteron June 6, 2014 at 1:12 pm

When I saw dat shadow and the vampire nightstalker going to eat everyone, I was like “OH S***!”

Robi Tribalon June 6, 2014 at 2:22 pm

@ BloodWolf7 – Yeah, voting probably won’t be a perk as it doesn’t happen often enough. Gonna give the perks a lot of thought before I do anything :D Thanks though!
@ Otter – A campaign hasn’t been set up yet. I just wanted to get some feedback from all of you :D

Personally, I think having a perk of seeing episodes a day early is perfectly appropriate. How does doing that harm non-patrons? You still get to see the same content, in the same timeframe you normally would.

Nathanon June 6, 2014 at 6:35 pm

I hope the next update doesn’t take too long. :/

Sabastianon June 6, 2014 at 6:36 pm

Dear Joe
AHWAHDWUAHD STOP THE CLIFHANGERS. AHH I JUST BRAINFART OF BORDOM WAITING

ZachWon June 6, 2014 at 8:25 pm

I hope it’s not inappropriate to be happy about you having more time for the comic.Still love it after all.

Ryanon June 6, 2014 at 10:30 pm

HOLY CRAP JOE! I will say you scared the living crap outta me with that one! Just with the lights I was like okay and then the power and its was like meh and then the music and him just popping up made me want to hide and just cower in fear of those creepy green eyes!

sykeson June 7, 2014 at 3:40 am

I support a couple of folks on patreon and would definitely support the pocalypse. I’m sure you’re aware, but you can do it per-month or per-episode (just another thing to think about). There’s also a lot more perks available than just day-early comics. Have you had a good look around patreon? One of the guys offers “a warm and fuzzy feeling” for $1/month and has 280 people buying. Higher pledges get inside access to behind the scenes stuff like drafts. A bit more and there’s a monthly hangout with the author. Personally, I think that seeing the episode a day early as a high-level perk wouldn’t be unfair.

Adamon June 7, 2014 at 10:36 pm

@Joe, just a current concern about the game, with all the current upgrades, the Siege Unit is stronger per unit than the aircraft, and cheaper too

Not going to sayon June 8, 2014 at 2:01 am

IF you can get back to a once a week schedule i would be interested in Patreon.

Caseyon June 8, 2014 at 3:10 pm

great scene, though i would mostly like to comment on

!!MONOLITH!!

that game is awesome, i´m beyond hooked! however, your evo-point counter needs to be WAY faster, its still rising (several!) hours after one stopped playing, plus its plain annoying to wait half an hour until one has enough points to buy one more plane. also, sliding bar that allows you to switch from looking at the beast to the monolith – as it is now, i´m missing half of your awesome details ;-(

Peya Lunaon June 8, 2014 at 7:05 pm

Gawd Im Still Waiting For News On Pocalypse Defecne 2

ZachWon June 8, 2014 at 9:42 pm

Just when I was about to lose hope and take The Pocalypse off my weekly rotation, looks like this train might be getting back on its tracks. Good to have ya back Joe, look forward to more.

Phoenixon June 9, 2014 at 12:21 am

you are evil. “now we are together” evil. please dont stop, love every one you make.

Chrison June 9, 2014 at 3:41 am

aww yeah. Good to see another, about damn’ time too if you ask me.

Thanks for the scene Joe, keep up the good work.

Rasmus Nielsenon June 9, 2014 at 9:45 am

God, finally. Been waiting for an episode for months now.

YZon June 10, 2014 at 11:12 am

oh god same i love you so much john and i cant wait to see more of your amazing adventures! *prepares to wait another 234875623895 years for another scene*

joshuaoheathon June 11, 2014 at 12:57 am

Im a few achievements away from finishing The Monolith but what i dont get is the evo points and eps from the scientists? Are they the same thing and what purpose do they serve,i really dont understand the scientist one at all?

WM28UKon June 12, 2014 at 11:44 am

Good to see the return of Joe (both of them). I’ve played The Monolith for a few days now and I’m at 2,867,999,999 damage atm with half the monolith in the grave. How much longer do you suppose it might be until a shard drops @Joe or is that the prize at the end?

shadowmonkey71on June 13, 2014 at 1:28 am

WHY DID I FORGET TO CHECK FOR SO LONG WHYYYYY

Damian Danteon June 13, 2014 at 9:04 am

Man!!! I’m losing it right here! Fucking amaizing scene Joe! Thanks for deciding to come back to a weekly schedule by the way, I’ll check here and twitter everyday now!

What a joy it was stumbling upon The Pocalypse again, i had forgotten it for nearly two whole years, I’m surprised i ever forgot something as invigorating as this, and it even shares my birth date, its great to be back here, though the updates do seem to have slowed considerably, though from a quick read it also seems that its picking back up again, what excellent timing.

Liro Raeriyoon June 14, 2014 at 3:00 am

@ Shadowmonkey – Im at 5,847,124,000 dmg atm and havent touched my monolith yet lol what happens when you do,im a few achievements away from completing it so i dont want to destroy it yet!

WM28UKon June 14, 2014 at 7:45 am

We don t hate cliffhangers unless we hang too long upon it.

zenlaon June 14, 2014 at 2:30 pm

:D Love The monolith joe. Went Afk with 3 Clubbers and Went on vacation for 2 days. Came Back and unlocked Everything

ZachWon June 16, 2014 at 10:16 am

Joe did you ahve any news on the the pocapips depend 2 game??? and i love Monolith

Dranlordon June 17, 2014 at 7:03 pm

hey just wanted to recommend, i remember a crowd funding thing you did awhile back, why not try patreon.com? check it out

da webcomic anonymous readeron June 17, 2014 at 9:05 pm

@ Da Webcomic – I take it your not a fan of reading the descriptions then?